No Mercy
by Andorian Ice Princess-AIP
Summary: Trapped and injured with a merciless madman bent on personal revenge. What happens when Danny arrives to the scene to find Jamie missing? Can Danny rescue Jamie before it's too late? Or will he lose another brother in the line of duty? Based on Eppy 5.05 'Loose Lips' 'Contains spoilers' CHAP 5 UP NOW
1. Into The Fire

**Title: No Mercy  
><strong>**Chapter 1 – Into the Fire **

**Summary:** Trapped and injured with a merciless madman bent on personal revenge. What happens when Danny arrives to the scene to find Jamie missing? Can Danny rescue Jamie before it's too late? Or will he lose another brother in the line of duty? Based on Eppy 5.05 'Loose Lips' 'Contains spoilers'

**Disclaimer: ** Um you know by now write? Lol I own nothing but my hard working muse Alice. But if I did run the show you know we'd have some broments in every single eppy!

**A/N:** Ah yes gotta love the Jamie whump/angst and so happy that he confided in Danny at least a little. Of course my muse wanted to embellish a bit of this eppy so I hope you all like what we came up with. Hope its okay and please enjoy!

_Note: "Words in italics and double quotes taken directly from the eppy" words in italics w/no quotes are thoughts and 'words in italics with single quotes are past discussions'_

* * *

><p>After he had found Jamie's card in the personal possession of the dead girl and after he had been the one to say the cop who helped her was now on this madman's hit list he couldn't get Jamie in to see him fast enough.<p>

_"So tell me what happened."_

_"8:35am. I saw Tina sittin' on a bench. She had bruises on her left eye and right arm. She was really spooked. Said someone was stalking her but took off before I could get her whole story."_

_"And you didn't see anyone else?"_

_"No, but even if this guy wasn't there I think he was way inside her head."_

_"Seems now he wants your head on a platter for getting involved."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah really. Musta found your card or somethin'."_

_"Let him come find me."_

Jamie's mind is distracted by his tense discussion with Danny that he fails to notices the gathering of black sedans in the near distance. He tries to listen to Eddie's mindless chatter about riding with a marked man but all he can think about is Danny's stern warning. Of course he was worried but at the same time he had told himself that he had beaten to death a 90 pound woman and was basically a coward. _I'm sure he's in hiding. _

His thoughts couldn't be further from the truth.

"Reagan!"

It's not until Eddie's shrill voice snaps him back to reality and the gathering of black sedans and masked comes into clear focus and he knows they are in trouble! The sedans aren't moving and now it seems that Danny's fateful word are something he should have taken more seriously.

_"It's a setup!" _Jamie excitedly exclaims as he reaches for his radio to call for help and immediate backup. Within seconds of him putting out the call for help the car is under attack. He knows if they get out, they'll face an angry gang of thugs with bats and crowbars. Best to stay inside the NYPD cruiser and wait for help. However, that plan is quickly rendered moot when the unthinkable happens.

"Jamie!" Eddie literally screams as a man dressed in black with Molotov cocktail in his hand approaches. He smashes through the driver's side window, blowing it out and setting his left arm on fire and the car on fire.

Panic literally rips through every single part of his already agitated frame as he tries to recover from turning to the right to shield his face from the exploding glass.

"AHHHHHH!" Jamie's lips cry out as he quickly goes into action, trying to use anything other than his vulnerable right hand to put out the flames on his left arm. His first instinct is to bat at the flames, but he's quickly forced to acknowledge the pain coming from his right hand and pulls back, frantically reaching for his anything else to take over. _HURRY! Oh God…it hurts….it hurts! _His mind laments as he bats at his arm with his hat.

But the men outside don't seem to care that they are literally setting two human being's on fire or that the fiery petrol based explosive was about send them up in a ball of flames. Burnt alive! He wasn't about to beg for mercy because if mercy was to be extended, this situation wouldn't have even started in the first place. _So much for a coward in hiding!_

"Eddie! It's gonna blow!" Jamie shouts as he kicks at the busted driver's side door; his already throbbing arm screaming at him for some urgent medical attention. It only takes seconds for the car to blow, the fiery impact sending Jamie flying onto the rough pavement. At first he had wished for a softer landing but as the wicked flames start to lick the black fabric protecting his back, he's thankful that he's able to roll onto the somewhat damp concrete surface and put the flames out before they could do any more serious damage.

"GET THEM!"

Despite the frantic ringing in his ears, Jamie's brain is able to focus his eyes long enough to get a handle on what's happening now. Russell Price is hurrying toward him with something raised to strike and do further harm. Jamie fires off a warning shot that stops the ensuing perpetrator in his tracks and allows him to crawl back behind the burning cruiser.

"Eddie!"

"Yeah…here," she huffs as she crawls up beside him. "They have us pinned down!" She shouts with the cruiser to the front, the thugs to the right the dumpster and a fence to the back. To the left? Maybe a possible escape.

"I know," Jamie growls as he tries to bend his left arm to use his radio. His lips utter a painful gasp as the chewed up fabric rubs against the freshly burnt skin, causing his eyes to instantly water. But he bites back his personal discomfort as he knows if backup doesn't arrive soon, suffering from a first or second degree burn is the least of his problems. He knows what brutality Russell Price is capable of.

"Where's our BACKUP?" Jamie's voice demands out in painful desperation as he fires off another warning shot.

"How's your arm?"

"Still attached," Jamie retorts with some sarcasm as Eddie looks over in a panic. "STAY BACK!" Jamie calls out as one of them throws another homemade explosive device about a meter away, forcing Jamie's left side to once again feel the heat and scramble to his right, pushing Eddie a bit further up against the side of a metal garbage dumpster.

Jamie's mind starts to swirl with panicked thoughts as he watches the group of armed and masked thugs starting to converge upon them. Despite the crackle of flames only a few meters away, the ringing in his ears quiets long enough for him to pick up the distinct sound of incoming police signals. They just had to hang on for a few more minutes.

"Hurry," Jamie mutters under his breath.

"LOOK OUT!" Eddie shouts in horror as another homemade explosive sails through their, aiming right for their heads.

"Oh damn!" Jamie shouts as he scrambles to his knees to try to get out of the way; Eddie rushing in the other direction. He pushes himself up to his feet just as the explosive smashes into the side of the dumpster; the heat being felt on his back and injured side once more.

But just before he can find another place to hide, a rough set of hands grabs him from behind and a firm punch is delivered to his jaw, sending him stumbling backward, nearly losing his footing. "Hey…wa…" is all Jamie manages before darkness surrounds him once more and his night goes from bad to worse.

XXXXXXXX

When Eddie finally recovers and scrambles back behind the burning RMP, she frantically looks around for any signs of her partner. "JAMIE!" She calls out in haste.

"COPS!" One of the few remaining masked men call out as Eddie watches two sets of red and blue flashing lights appear and come to a screeching halt; the men fleeing in all directions.

"Oh what the hell!" Danny growls as he jumps out from behind the front driver's seat, his eyes instantly scanning the area for his brother. "Jamie!" Danny shouts as Baez hurries after one of the fleeing perps. "Jamie!"

"Reagan!" Eddie shouts as she calls out to them.

"Where's Jamie!"

"He was right…here," Eddie rushes up to Danny with a panicked expression.

"What do you mean was? Where the hell is he?"

"I don't know," she replies with a gasp, "but you have to find him…his arm was on fire!"

"What?" Danny asks in shock as Baez joins them. "Where did he go?"

"That way," she points toward the opposite side of the dumpster, the opposite direction of the way she ran. Danny hurries to the other side of the large metal container and feels his stomach instantly lurch.

On the ground lies Jamie's gun and radio. _Oh damn….not Jamie…oh no…._

"Danny!" Baez hurries to his side and then looks down. "What's going on?"

"Jamie's in trouble."

XXXXXXXX

"AHHHH!" Jamie's lips cry out in pain as his already aching arms are forced behind his back and then cuffed in place. He had tried to fight back as best he could, but a few merciless blows to his damaged left arm sent him writhing in pain and rendered him a helpless captive.

Russell Price grabs a small handful of dirty blond hair and slams him chest first against the wall of the hallway of the dingy building they were now standing in. "You brought this upon yourself cop!" He hisses in anger.

"You brok…" is all Jamie manages before a swift punch to the kidney's forces his lungs to sharply hiss and then gasp for air.

"I hope you like pain," he man hisses in his ear as he forces Jamie's head painfully upright once more. "I know you've seen evidence of my handiwork. Now it's time you felt it for yourself. Up close and personal."

"We gotta get out of here!" The other masked man growls as they hear the sirens nearing. "Cops are on our ass!"

"Look you guys ca….mmmmph!"

But Jamie's plea is short lived as a piece of tape is forced over his lips, instantly silencing him.

"You had your chance to finger me!" Price slaps Jamie on the face. As he gives him a hard shove backwards and then looks at his masked accomplice.

"Bring him!"

_Stall! Trip them up! Do something or else you'll end up on the receiving end of a brutal beating and help might not arrive in time!_

Despite the painful throbbing in his arms, Jamie's legs purposely stumble, forcing him and the other masked man keeping hold on him to fall. He knew it would render him a kick to the gut or worse, but the bruises would heal; if his life was taken that was it. However, Price shows him just how merciless he can be.

"Nice try cop!" Price growls as his hand clamps down on Jamie's burnt arm and painfully squeezes; forcing Jamie's lips to cry out under the tap gag and his eyes to instantly water. "I said to behave or else!"

"mmmmph," Jamie's lips offer a muffled whimper as he's pulled up to his feet and dragged further into the belly of the unfamiliar establishment. He tries to think of another way to stall for time, but knows that if he does try again, he could possibly sustain another blow to his arm and he's not sure how much more damage the blistering skin can take.

"You're gonna be so sorry you ever stuck your nose in my damn business!" Price shouts as they stop and he turns and glares at Jamie's angry expression before his hand seizes Jamie's neck and shoves him back up against the wall.

"Course," Price sneers as he applies some pressure to Jamie's vulnerable windpipe. "I could just put you out of my damn misery right now!"

_Can't…breathe…_Jamie's mind spirals downward as his lungs try to heave in some oxygen. But not wanting to give up without a fight, Jamie's leg comes up, his bent knee connecting with Price's groin and causing him to step back with a painful yelp and curse.

"Oh trust me, you'll pay for that!" Price snarls as he gives Jamie a shove and the other masked man grabs his good arm and continues to pull him down the darkened hallway. "One more outburst and I swear I'll just sling you over my shoulder if I have to! You can't fight fate cop!"

Jamie's eyes narrow as Price's face looms in closer.

"You'll die a slow painful death today no matter what. Hope you said goodbye to any family you might have. Because you'll NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN!"

They reach the end of the darkened hallway and stop at a rickety old service elevator; Price pushing the button and then turning around to face Jamie with arched brows. "I guess it's true what they say, bad deeds don't go unpunished," he taunts as he pulls a pair of brass knuckles. "I wonder if you'll last longer than she did."

_DANNY! _Jamie's mind yells as he's shoved into the dimly lit wooden box and Price pulls the gate closed behind him.

XXXXXXXX

_"Let him come find me."_

_"Jamie, I'm serious."_

_"Why? Danny, perps threaten cops all the time. Probably happens to you three, four times a day."_

_"Which is why you should trust me on this. Yeah I get it, cops all wanna play tough guys and blow it off and I'm probably guilty at doing that as anyone. But this is different. You're my kid brother and it's serious."_

_"Then I'll be extra careful, Danny, alright?"_

_"Do me a favor. Play House mouse a couple days at the precinct, okay?"_

_"Danny, I'm on duty. If you need anything else…just call me."_

He remembers watching Jamie leave and cursing his bullheadedness but then was reminded by Baez that stubbornness runs in the Reagan's blood. _"But it's different…it's my kid brother…"_ he couldn't make her understand that he could take whatever came his way, but every day he worried about Jamie. First Joe…then Jamie. His father had told him before to drop the whole 'kid' title but Danny couldn't. Jamie was his kid brother and no matter how old his brother or the number of stripes on his uniform, he'd always be his kid brother. Someone he felt naturally obligated to protect. That would never change.

"Reagan?"

Baez's voice finally snaps him back to reality and instead of waiting he just bolts. _Gotta find Jamie! Can't lose another!_

"Danny! Where are you going?" Baez calls out as she hurries after Danny; Eddie being taken away in an ambulance to get checked over; her nerves too shaken to be any use right now.

"Is that rhetorical?" Danny growls as he hurries toward the first alleyway opening; Baez in tow. "Take the right side of the alleyway. Check everything!"

"Danny…"

"He set Jamie on fire," Danny turns back to look at his partner with a weak frown. "I gotta find him before this bastard does any more harm. If he has Jamie, he's planning on dealing him some serious pain. Maybe even kill him. I can't let that happen."

"I'll take the right."

Danny gives his partner a nod and then ducks into the darkened alleyway. "Jamie!" He calls out, hoping that even if he was caught, he'd somehow be able to make some kind of noise and alert Danny to his present location. "Jamie!" Danny tries once more as he reaches the end of the alleyway. "Damn it!" He growls as he looks around the three walls for an opening but finds none.

"Baez! Any sign of Price?"

"Nothing yet. I'm going inside one."

"Okay," Danny replies with a small huff as he hangs up and races back down the alleyway. He rounds the corner and continues down the left side. He passes by a hidden doorway and then suddenly stops a few feet past, turns and races back. He spies the crack of light coming from under the doorway and pulls his gun. He checks the door handle and then kicks it open, not caring if he makes noise to announce his arrival.

Danny strains his ears, his brain begging to pick up any kind of sound in the distance. "Come on kid…where are you?" Danny begs in a soft whisper as his stomach starts to tighten. _'He set Jamie on fire'…_

He had found out that it was only Jamie's left arm and while that was still tormenting to hear, it was better than knowing all of him had been set on fire. But he knows that Jamie's captor isn't a man that will feel sorry for his brother's current suffering and so tells himself that time is running out and if he doesn't find him fast, he'll endure more needless torment. _Not on my watch, _Danny's mind vows as he rushes down the hallway.

He reaches the end of the hallway and curses again as he reaches what proves to be another dead end. "Damn this!" Danny curses once more as he turns and races back down the hallway, pivoting to the left and racing down another narrow, dimly hit hallway; panic starting to course through his veins that he'd be too late.

"Jamie!" Danny calls out once more as he nears the end of the hallway. He stops suddenly as he looks at the locked elevator and then the fire escape. He checks the lock on the wooden service elevator before he heads toward the fire escape and prepares to bust through. But just before he's about to take a very wrong turn, he stops, his ears picking up an odd 'clinking' sound coming from…the elevator shaft?

Danny hurries back to the shaft and peers down, his eyes squinting into the darkness below but then adjusting and fixing on what appears to be a soft glow of light.

"Jamie," Danny whispers as he looks at the lock. Just before he's about to hit the lock, he gives it a hard tug and much to his relief, the lock pulls down and he's quick to toss it away. His mind races with a dilemma – wondering if he summons the elevator and wastes time and outing himself within seconds or…

"Ah damn," Danny groans as he stows his gun and then prepares to climb down. _Hold on kid…I'm coming!_

XXXXXXXX

"Feeling the love yet cop?" Price snarls down at Jamie's painfully writhing frame on the dirty cement floor. "Ready for another round?"

_No…please God…no more…_Jamie's mind wheezes as his watery eyes tries to focus on the person looming over him. With is aching arms trapped behind his back, his chest on fire and his lips unable to call for help, his mind wonders if this indeed would be his final resting place.

"So I wonder if you think your brilliant plan to stick your nose into my business was so brilliant after all?"

Jamie's frame tries to recoil as his captor bends down and grabs a handful of dirty blond hair, painfully jerking his head upright and forcing Jamie's face to wince and his lips to offer an automatic whimper.

"Aww what's the matter cop? Finally met your match!"

Jamie's head is pushed back down to the floor, his nose picking up the smell of sweat and fresh droplets of blood; his throat trying hard not to swallow the coppery sludge that was coming from his bottom lip, his teeth having sunk into the soft flesh after the last hard blow to his vulnerable jaw.

His mind swirls with pain as his brain tries to send his legs out to kick at his captor and at least try to slow him down a little; his mind continually praying for Danny to arrive before it's too late. _I know Danny will find me…he has to find me…he has…to…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

Another merciless blow to his tender chest, forces Jamie's frame to jerk in response and his ears to pick up taunting laughter. He squeezes his eyes shut as he hears the footsteps slowly circling his captive frame. _Just not…the arm…._his mind painfully wheezes as his read rests on the dirty cement.

"How much longer do you think you can hold out cop?" Price hisses angrily as he bends down to Jamie's whimpering frame. "I'm willing to bet you wanna give in. Do it cop! DO IT!" Price shouts as Jamie's frame slightly jumps as Price nears.

"My buddy here is taking bets on how long you'll hold out. But see…I don't have that much time because I'm sure there's some cop out there looking for you right now and we're not that far from ground zero."

_Danny…Danny will find me….he… has….to….DANNY!_

"So how about I do us both a favor and end your suffering right now?"

Jamie looks up in misery, this throat unwilling to swallow and his expression trying to put on a display of bravery and defiance. Price pulls a knife and grins as he pulls off his mask in a brazen display of pride.

"Say goodbye cop!"

XXXXXXXX

"Gotta eat less…Twinkie's," Danny huffs as he nears the bottom, his eyes looking down for the next foothold to ensure his safe landing. He'd be no good to either of them if he got himself injured. He knows Jamie's already hurt and would need his strength to get him to immediate medical attention.

Danny reaches the bottom and then pulls his gun, pausing for a few seconds as he allows his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit surroundings once again. He then strains his ears to listen. He spies several doorways but the shouting he heard earlier had stopped and that forces his nervous agitation to soar. _No good…silence can only mean…NO! JAMIE'S ALIVE! _

"He's alive…" Danny's lips mutter as he heads for the first doorway. His right hand readies his gun as his left one pushes the door open. He quickly steps into the room, ready to fire if necessary. The room is empty. And he can only curse as he steps back in haste.

He hurries back into the floor opening and then pauses once more. His ears pick up a small shuffling sound and quickly pivots to the left, his eyes narrowing as they rest upon the closed doorway. _This better be the one…_

Danny clears the open space in a few seconds and then pauses as his hand slowly turns the door handle. The door isn't locked but he is careful as he slowly opens it wider; his right hand ready to fire and his heart rate starting to soar once more.

He hears the shuffling at the end and wastes no time in racing down the hallway and then stopping at the entrance to the last door on the right; the fire escape exit to his left.

But just as Danny peers into the musty smelling room, his breathe literally catches. There on the floor, bound, beaten and unmoving is his beloved brother.

"Oh no…no no no…Jamie…NO!"

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay so this started as a one shot but I didn't want to rush the caring recovery or takedown of the baddie so it became a two shot (possibly a 3 parter) and hope that's okay. The Guardian has really taken a lot of my time as of late so I feel a bit rusty at these but I hope I got the angsty tension and whump just right and of course the brotherly concern (you'll see more of that up next) and hope you all liked this. Please do review before you go to let me know what you all thought and IF you even want some more and thanks so much.


	2. Physical & Emotional Scars

**Title: No Mercy  
><strong>**Chapter 2 – Physical & Emotional Scars**

* * *

><p>For a few minutes Danny pauses, unable or mostly unwilling to take a step forward, his heart racing so fast he's almost afraid that he'll drop right here on the spot and be unable to get his brother any lifesaving medical help. He hears his partner's voice calling to him over the radio but call he do is fix on Jamie's unmoving frame and wonder if he had already been too late and what he'd have to tell his father.<p>

But just before all hope is lost, Jamie's lips utter a soft whimper and Danny's mind finally springs into action.

"Yeah…Baez…found him…call a bus!"

"What?"

"Ambulance…he's uh…hurt…"

"Danny!"

"Call for a damn ambulance!"

"Where are you?"

"Trace my phone!" Danny snaps as he shoves his still active phone into his pocket and then carefully heads toward Jamie's fallen frame, lying on his belly with his hands cuffed behind his back. "Hold on Jamie," Danny whispers as he pulls his handcuff key and then drops to his knees. "Oh God…" Danny whispers in misery as he undoes the lock and gently pulls the handcuffs away.

Heated anger literally surges through his entire frame as his watery eyes fix upon the burnt fabric with some burnt holes and red patches of blistered skin peeking through. He shakes his head as he gently lifts Jamie's face and removes the tape from his mouth, his fingers instinctively feeling for a pulse when Jamie's frame had gone limp in his grasp.

"Come on Jamie…talk to me say something…just…damn it kid come on!" Danny growls in frustrated agitation. "Jamie!"

"Da-nny…" Jamie manages in a hoarse whisper as he tries to open his watery eyes.

"Shhh kid you're okay…you're okay. Oh God you better be okay," Danny tells him in a tender tone as he wonders what is the best way to help his brother. _He's starting to shake which means he's going into shock…get him the hell out of here before your handling does him anymore damage! _His brain commands.

"I know this is gonna hurt but um…I gotta do it," Danny tries to tell Jamie what he's going to do, his brain not sure if Jamie was in a lucid enough state to actually acknowledge him or just grunt from the pain further movement to his body is producing. Danny removes his jacket and tries to gently wrap it around Jamie's aching frame to offer some heat and try to calm his nerves, but a painful outcry as the fabric rubs against his burnt skin stops his actions and he leaves the coat for now.

"AHHHHH!"

"Okay…okay…just hold on," Danny once again offers in a quiet tone as he carefully gather's Jamie up in his grasp, leaving his left arm to dangle freely if that made it feel better and heads for the elevator. "MOVE FASTER!" Danny's voice bellows as he hits the up button with his right elbow a few times.

"Danny…" Jamie's voice utters so softly that Danny actually has to catch his breath to hear and then look down.

"You did good kid…you held on…now just hold on a bit longer," Danny instructs in a tender tone as Jamie's watery blue-grey eyes finally open all the way and look up, his flushed and dirty brow gently furrowing. For a split second, he sees Jamie in his arms in the form of a little boy looking up with scared eyes, begging for help and comfort and his heart breaks all over again.

"Did you…get him?"

"Baez is looking for him right now," Danny replies as the wooden elevator box finally opens. "I came for you."

"Priorities," Jamie croaks as Danny's lips can't help but offer a sad smirk.

"Yeah well maybe mine are screwed up," Danny huffs as he braces himself against the side of the slatted wooden box as it slowly moves upward. "You're gonna be okay."

"Hurts…to breathe," Jamie confesses with a heavy wince as they near the top.

"I know but there's an ambulance waiting and they'll take you and get you…"

"Arm…hurts."

"Yeah damn bastard burnt it," Danny growls as the box stops and he hurries into the open area and then pushes his way into the back alley. The cool night air instantly starts to attack Jamie's weakened frame making him shiver a bit harder.

"Almost there kid…just hold on a bit longer," Danny mutters as Jamie's face screws in pain.

"Danny…"

"I know…I know but we're almost there."

"Hurts," Jamie whispers in torment.

"Baez!"

"Danny…"

"I know. BAEZ!" Danny calls out, hoping his shrill pitch would attract his partner. Danny pivots to the right; Jamie's lips trying to hold back painful grunts as his body jars in Danny's grasp. But Jamie knows he'll not complain about the new painful movement as Danny had saved his life and if it hadn't been for his brother's actions alerting his captor that he was there, his life would have been over. As it was he had tried to play possum the last few hits; his captor well on his to thinking that he was already near death.

"I'm sorry," Danny offers in remorse.

Danny looks down at Jamie in misery as Jamie looks up with a soft, watery tormented expression but says nothing.

"Just hold on Jamie," Danny begs softly as he rounds the corner and hurries toward the waiting ambulance, Baez rushing up to his right.

"How is he?"

"Not good," Danny answers gravely as he pushes past her, picking up his pace as he nears the waiting ambulance. "He's having trouble breathing and his left arm was…burnt badly and I think he has some broken ribs…hey! Got a wounded cop here!"

"Put him down gently."

Danny's eyes instantly well as he carefully lays Jamie down on the stretcher and Jamie's lips utter a painful gasp. He turns to Baez with anger flashing in his eyes; hateful revenge the only thing on his mind. "I gotta go."

"Oh no. Go with Jamie."

"My dad wi…"

"He needs you at his side right now," Baez reminds Danny as Jamie's lips utter another painful cry and Danny looks into the ambulance in sorrow and then back at his partner. "I've got this."

"You find me this bastard!" He hisses before he turns and hops into the belly of the ambulance as the two medics work to carefully bundle Jamie onto the stretcher for the ride to the hospital.

"Just hold on kid," Danny huffs as he pulls his phone to text his father, wanting Frank to hear the news about his son from his other son and not just some agitated officer. _Oh who are you fooling! You're also agitated! _Danny watches as one medic affixes the mask over Jamie's mouth and nose to give him some fresh oxygen while the other starts to gently attend to his exposed left arm. "Oh damn," Danny winces as the medic slowly cuts away the dark fabric and exposes Jamie's lightly blistered skin. "Will um…how bad is the um…the burns?"

"From what I can see it looks like second degree with maybe a few first degree burns. But the blisters and intense pain and heat indicate second," the medic replies slowly. "The best thing for me right now is to keep them cool, moist and away from anything that could break a blister or do further damage and allow infection. The doctor will treat it more thoroughly at the hospital."

"Okay," Danny acknowledges somewhat numbly. As Jamie's eyes open and look up at his brother. "Just rest now kid. It um…at least it's not third degree right?" He knows it's a lame comment and not that comforting but to see Jamie hurting so much but holding back all his pain and emotion stabs him to his very core. _I'll find that son of a bitch that did this! I'll find him and make him pay!_

Jamie looks up at Danny with pleading eyes as Danny looks back down with an angry gaze. His eyes water once more and his face winces when the medic tries to gently clean a busted blistered area of some gritty debris. Jamie's eyes squeeze shut as the medic offers a soft apology but continues. Unable to let Jamie just suffer in morbid silence, Danny looks at Jamie's uninjured hand and much too both their surprise, takes it in his and gives it a squeeze. Jamie's watery eyes snap open as his right arm starts to flood and he looks at Danny with a soft frown and wondering glance. Danny lips slightly purse as he goes to pull his hand away. But Jamie's fingers tighten around Danny's, hoping the connection isn't broken. Jamie shakes his head, his hoarse lungs wanting to tell him to leave it. It works. The connection remains and Jamie's agitated frame is able to settle once more.

"Okay," Danny whispers as he keeps his hand grasped with Jamie's. "Just try to relax now," Danny tells his brother as Jamie's eyes close once more, the medic still gently tending to the burns on his left arm.

They arrive at the hospital and Danny quickly hops out, hurrying after the stretcher but cursing when he's forced to wait outside the ER surgical treatment area.

"Danny!"

Danny turns to see Eddie rush up to him with a look of panic and grits his teeth. The last thing he wants to deal with is an outsider asking a whole bunch of questions about his injured brother. "He's going to be okay and that's all I know," Danny states gruffly as he pulls his phone and dials his partner for an update.

"Well keep looking and let me know," Danny tells Baez as he watches his father approach. Frank pauses to talk to Eddie first before reaching his son. "The doctor's with him now."

"How bad?"

"Pretty bad," Danny replies in truth.

"I'm going to check up on him and then I want you to take him home."

"Me? Oh I don't think so. You take him home. I need to be out there."

"Right now, in your present frame of mind you'll find this guy and do something you'll regret."

"You think I'd actually lose sleep if I dropped that bastard off the roof?" Danny retorts in angry sarcasm.

"No. I would. But not over him," Frank replies.

"Jamie would rather have you there."

"I will be by the apartment to check on him as soon as I can but I left two fires burning that..."

"Jamie almost died tonight!" Danny reminds Frank angrily. "He needs you there."

Frank looks at Danny with a heavy frown before his lips slightly purse. "Jamie needs you with him tonight. This isn't open for discussion."

"He..."

"He'll feel _safer_ with you there."

Danny looks at his father and it finally dawns on him. With Russell Price still at large, the chances of him coming for Jamie to finish the job were pretty good and to entrust Jamie's precious life to some ordinary beat cop would be doing them all a disservice. Jamie needed Danny there even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Father's always know best," Frank states firmly before he turns and heads into the ER treatment area; leaving Danny to gently growl under his breath as he calls his partner for an update.

Jamie looks up just as Frank approaches and offers his father a strained expression. "Dad."

"Oh Jamie," Frank lightly laments as he nears his bedside and takes hold of his son's right hand.

"How's Eddie?" Jamie asks in haste.

"She's okay. Shaken up and a few bumps and bruises but she'll be fine in a day. I told her to go home and rest. What happened?" Frank asks the doctor as he nods first to the tensor bandages around Jamie's chest.

"Two broken ribs and two cracked. He came in with labored breathing and we were worried that a lung was punctured but x-rays ruled that out. He took quite the beating tonight."

"Oh no," Frank groans under his breath as he looks down at Jamie's roughed up expression.

"It's okay," Jamie tries to reply bravely as Frank looks up at the doctor as he continues to treat Jamie's blistering arm by adding the burn gel and then wrapping it with non-sticking gauze.

"So no internal damage?"

"Nothing that will require surgery. He'll be off work at least a week or two until all this heals up but from what he told me…it could have been worse," the doctor tells Frank in truth as Frank's jaw hardens further. He looks down at his beloved son and feels his stomach lurch. The cut above Jamie's left eye was bandaged, his nose and lips were showing bits of dried blood and dirt, his jaw was darker on the right side, the parts of his pale chest not wrapped with the tensor bandage was a darker shade of blue and his arm was red and blistered. In that moment, Frank Reagan's normally calm police commissioner exterior was fading away, wanting so desperately to be replaced with Frank Reagan, vengeful father. He understood Danny's anger; now he feels it. _It could have been worse! _His brain tries to reason, wanting to keep him calm for his son's sake. Reason wins out.

"At least no hospital stay right?" Jamie mentions with a small hiss as the doctor treats an open blister.

"Sorry," the doctor states kindly as Frank looks at him in haste for an explanation. "There are some bad first degree burns but some second here also where the skin is already broken but thankfully no third. The fabric took most of the brunt but some of the blisters have broken open as you see where it burnt through and he was unable to see medical treatment right away. I'm going to treat them to keep them from getting infected but it'll be imperative for him to keep them cool, clean and away from harm when he goes home so no other blisters break open and infections develop."

"Sorry," Jamie whispers as his grasp around Frank's hand tightens.

"The person responsible for this is the only one who will be sorry," Frank softly vows as the doctor looks up and then back down to continue.

"I'll send some instructions home with him on how to treat this for the next few days but if no infection develops and all the blisters go down on their own, then it'll just heal with a few minor scars."

"Scars?" Jamie asks weakly as the doctor nods in agreement.

"Also normal movement is imperative so that the area doesn't tighten as it heals but of course no heavy lifting and if possible try to keep it free of further injury at least until all the blisters have gone down naturally."

Jamie listens to the rest of the doctor's words about the treatment, the injury itself but it all bleeds into one ringing sound in his ears as his head slumps back down; his mind whisking him back in time to that horrible moment in the basement. His captor showed no mercy, kicking his arm once, hence the freshly broken blisters. At least no internal organs were punctured and he's able to go home sooner; dreading an extended hospital stay. It was bad enough he'd have to go home and be off work for a week or two and be extra careful but to just sit and wonder about the fate of the man that rendered him House bound and not able to help in his capture and arrest was almost worse. He wanted more than anything to push past the pain and get the man responsible for his near death.

Frank remains silent as he listens to the doctor and then looks down at Jamie who remains quiet as well. He can only imagine the horrible thoughts his youngest was pondering; the images he'd see at night of the man who had done this to him. He hears the soft whimper from his son and looks down in haste, his hand tenderly brushing away a stray tear as Jamie looks up with a set jaw.

"It's okay Jamie," Frank whispers in sorrow.

"I know this hurts him and I'm trying to be as gentle as I can."

"You must have children," Frank comments as he doctor nods.

"I guess some parental instincts are with you no matter where you are or what you're doing. I see my own son here and that's how I'm treating yours."

"Thank you for your kindness," Frank tells the doctor in a strained tone before he looks back down. Despite the fact that he knows Jamie's a grown man, very capable of taking care of himself and pulling through even the most tense of circumstances, the silent pleading in his eyes just pulls out the fatherly protector in him even more. "You're doing very well Jamie."

"Thanks dad," Jamie whispers with a tender smile of his own.

"Okay so we're all done," the doctor mentions in truth as Jamie looks over at his bandaged arm. "It's imperative that for the next 24 to 48 hours you keep it up, don't touch it and make sure that it sustains no further damage of any kind. Otherwise the other blisters might break and your whole arm will be scarred or infected."

Jamie's mind takes in all the doctor's orders; a tight lump of tension forming in his stomach. To prevent infection, open blisters were bandaged and they were sitting atop soft non sticking gauze that was covering the blistered areas. He'd have to keep his arm just like that for at least the next twenty-four hours, and raised as much as possible to help keep the swelling down.

Danny finally enters the ER waiting area with a tense frown, nearing the bed and feeling his agitation starting to rise.

"Did you guys get him?"

"Not yet. But don't worry, we know who it is and every cop in the city is looking for his sorry ass right now!" Danny hisses, his voice slightly rising and then dropping upon getting a glance from his father. "I called Erin and Linda."

"You'll take Jamie home to just…"

"I don't need a babysitter," Jamie tries to protest.

"He doesn't need a babysitter," Danny also chimes in at the same time.

Frank cocks his head and then looks up at the doctor who gently chuckles.

"Mine do that too."

"I wasn't asking for input here," Frank continues with a small sigh. "Danny, I want you to take Jamie home and help him tonight. Baez is more than capable of leading the hunt for this guy."

Danny looks up at his father and purses his lips.

"Questioning my authority Detective Reagan?"

"Actually…" Danny starts as Frank's expression turns to one that dares him to utter something in verbal defiance. "No. Come on kid…"

"I will be okay on my own."

"Your brother needs to cool down a bit. Believe it or not, but he does actually care about you. A great deal."

"We shared a moment in the ambulance."

"Okay okay already," Danny groans as Jamie's lips automatically twist upward.

"I'm going to find Baez right now and get an update. I'll call you if I have anything solid."

"Yeah," Danny grumbles as the doctor hands him the care packet. "Thanks."

Jamie slowly stands up and Danny's hand automatically shoots out to help him steady on his feet before moving.

"Don't get any ideas, you're still a pain in the ass."

Jamie can only chuckle as he knows that Danny was only putting on a brave face for the doctor; in private is when the real Danny Reagan is allowed to come out – the one he knows cares about him and proves it in word and deed. And it's not long until that brotherly protection starts to surge as he readily bags up Jamie's things, including the care package into a hospital bag and then leads him their waiting Jeep; Linda in the driver's seat. He helps Jamie into the back passenger seat so his left arm would be less likely to touch anything and sustain further damage.

"You sure you don't want to stay with us?" Linda inquires as she heads toward Jamie's loft apartment.

"I'll be okay at home. Less fussing."

"Spoken like a true Reagan," she answers with a heavy sigh as she looks over at Danny.

"What? I don't mind fussing."

"Yeah only if you get to be the one fussing," she retorts with a small smile.

"I wish I could be back out there…helping catch this guy."

Linda can only offer a small laugh as she knows Danny would say the exact same things if he was in Jamie's tormented situation. But she had packed him an overnight bag upon Frank's direction and would check on them again in the morning to make sure if anything was needed she could get it.

"Okay, there you go," Danny tells Jamie in a soft tone as he helps his brother carefully get out of the back of the vehicle and then head for the front door of the apartment.

"So this guy is still out there?" Linda asks, as she looks at Danny in concern.

"If that bastard wants to finish the job, he'll hafta go through me first," Danny vows as her brows knit.

"That's not comforting but I know can't argue with it. Not seeing him like this and knowing what you said when you found him. I'm just glad it wasn't as bad as you thought."

"Yeah if he had to have internal surgery it would have been worse. For all of us."

"Love you," she whispers as she hugs her husband close and then kisses his cheek.

"Love you back," he replies as they pull apart. "I'll call you in the morning."

She watches him head toward the entrance and his waiting brother and gets into the Jeep and drives away.

"I would have been okay on my own."

"Yeah but dad's probably right," Danny lightly growls as he takes the key and opens the door to Jamie's building to let them inside. "If I found that guy I'd probably not think twice about blowing him away. Beats his girlfriend…tries to kill cops and…yeah. How are you feeling?"

"Like I just want to collapse right now," Jamie admits weakly. "I can't have a shower but…"

"Don't worry, we'll get you all cleaned up and stuff. Got any food in the fridge?"

"Mr. Noodles?" Jamie retorts with a slight snicker as they reach his loft apartment. His brain just automatically bends his left arm and a painful gasp immediately follows. "Ah…damn," he groans as Danny turns the key and they enter the dimly lit dwelling. "I'm okay…"

"Liar."

"That's what you'd say," Jamie tosses back as he looks at Danny in silent misery.

"Damn…that look."

"What? What look?"

"The same pathetic look you offered when you, and against orders I might add, followed me and Joe up that tree and then slipped and fell out and broke your arm. That face."

"Orders?" Jamie arches his brows. "We were kids."

"You still didn't listen."

"Yeah well tonight I was listening to orders," Jamie reminds him with a small wheeze.

"Had you been home the whole time, as ordered this…" Danny quickly stops as Jamie looks at him in misery.

"You're really going there right now?" Jamie sighs.

"Yeah…sorry. Okay so you need to just relax now. I'll get…" Danny pauses as he looks at his brother in remorse. "What?"

"I was scared. I…I honestly thought I was going to die. Stupid right?"

"No. Not stupid. I was scared too," Danny admits honestly. "When I found you and…and damn you weren't moving. I only wish I had gotten there sooner."

"It could have been worse right?"

"Yeah…it could have," Danny is forced to agree. "I want you just to relax now okay? We'll get you cleaned up and then get something to eat and then…"

"He's still out there Danny."

"He'll be caught soon."

"And if he's not? What if he finds out where I live or…"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Linda. He wants you, he's gotta come through me first," Danny states firmly. "But I don't think it'll come to that."

"Yeah well I thought that after he beat the 90 pound woman he'd go into hiding," Jamie sighs as he looks down at his bandaged arm. "I was wrong."

"As I said he has to come through me. He tried to kill a cop and now he knows that every cop in the city is looking for him. I think he'll lay low. Come on, we gotta get you cleaned up. It's going to be a long night – for both of us."

However, what they fail to realize is right now, the very man in question is watching them from a darkened alcove across the street.

Watching…

Waiting to strike…

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Okay dang! Lol it has turned into a bit more than a two shot – so hope that's okay! So lots of angst for both our boys and the night is only just starting so you know there will be lots more angsty hurt/comfort before the whump/danger/action ramps up again. I gotta get a bit of bonding time in there for our boys. Please note that with regards to Eddie, I don't write damsels in distress (possibly ever if I can help it) so sorry she won't be in any danger here and I'm not a fan of #Jamko at all except partners. To the rest of you that love our brotherly broments I hope you all enjoyed this bittersweet update and please let me know before you go in a review if you're still excited for a bit more and thanks so much!


	3. No Rest for the Restless

**Title: No Mercy  
><strong>**Chapter 3 – No Rest for the Restless**

* * *

><p>Jamie stands in the middle of his bedroom and looks around with a heavy sigh as he contemplates calling Danny to help him get into a pair of sweatpants that he can sleep in. <em>If you had stayed home…<em>"ah damn of course Danny's right!" Jamie hisses angrily; not realizing that Danny's watching him.

"Not that I don't appreciate the accolade but what are you in here cursing my name that I'm right about?"

"Cursing?" Jamie turns around in surprise.

"Yeah that was sarcasm. Kinda like you said. What's going on?" Danny presses.

"Had I just stayed on leave until this was over…but no point in looking back now right?"

"Know for next time."

"Thanks dad," Jamie retorts in sarcasm.

"Come on, I'll order in some pizza."

"Yeah I'll be right out."

Danny turns to leave but pauses in the hallway just as he hears Jamie utter another angry curse and pops his head back into Jamie's bedroom to see struggling to get his black police pants undone and get them off in favor of a pair of black sweat pants on the bed.

"Need help?"

Jamie looks up with a heavy frown and shakes his head.

"Oh what, are you shy?" Danny counters in sarcasm as he takes a few steps closer.

"I got this okay?" Jamie snaps as he tries to push Danny's hand away and then pulls away with a small huff.

"Okay," Danny whispers as he pulls back and gives Jamie some space. "I've made stupid mistakes too. We'll get this guy okay?"

"I know I just…" Jamie pauses as he looks outside into the twinkling night cityscape. "I thought I was dead tonight," he confesses as he keeps his gaze fixed outside the window; Danny looking on in remorse. "He just kept hitting me. I tried to fight back but…yeah…glad you showed up when you did."

"Come on kid," Danny gently entreats as his hand rests on Jamie's uninjured forearm and guides him back to the bed, Jamie slowly sitting down as Danny helps him remove his black dress pants. Danny looks up and frowns as he sees Jamie looking at his burnt and bandaged arm. "Hey," Danny states; Jamie looking up in wonder. "Stand up. What? We got the same equipment okay?" Danny snickers as Jamie's face softens.

Danny helps Jamie stand up and then using his right hand, Jamie pulls his black sweat pants the rest of the way up and he offers Danny a soft thank you as they leave the room. But instead of heading into the living room, Danny ushers Jamie into the bathroom so he can take a look at his arm.

"Pretty bad right?" Jamie asks softly as Danny's hand hovers above the unbroken blisters.

"Damn I can still feel the heat coming from the skin."

"I know."

"And you know what to do for the broken blisters right?"

"Yeah. And I have to keep it elevated. And I have to move it normally. And…" his voice trails off as he watches Danny gestures for him to sit down on the toilet and then turns on the cold water. With his broken ribs also crying out for attention, Jamie slowly eases himself down and then extends his left arm into Danny's gentle grasp. Fortunately only the top portion has the blisters so Danny's able to find a spot that isn't injured and gently hold it while he uses his other hand to dampen a cloth with cool water and then drip some onto the unbroken blisters to cool them down – the open blisters safely protected until some nonstick bandages.

"How's that?"

"Yeah it's um…damn…it hurts," Jamie offers with a soft lament as his eyes slightly water.

"Ah man kid, I'm sorry," Danny replies softly as he hands Jamie a Kleenex to wipe his eyes. "Tell me when to stop."

"The water feels good," Jamie tells Danny as he flexes his fingers.

"Does that hurt?"

"Yeah," Jamie nods as he wiggles them next. "I can feel the tendons moving…yeah it does. But I have to also move it."

"Okay. So leave your arm up on this towel roll," Danny instructs as he leaves Jamie's arm to air dry and then reaches for the first aid kit.

"You don't have to fuss."

"I know," Danny retorts as Jamie's lips finally offer a soft smirk. "But I don't mind." He takes one of the moistened towelette's and starts to clean the dried blood from Jamie's forehead and then nose and cheek. "Sorry," he offers softly as Jamie's face winces when he hits a part that is tenderer than the others.

"No, it's okay. You're better at this than you used to be," Jamie comments as Danny's lips offer a small smirk as he tosses the bloody cloth into the garbage can.

"Thank Linda," Danny retorts in truth. "You still remember that night in the park?"

"You mean the skateboarding accident?"

"Yeah," Danny smirks as Jamie's face relaxes also. "I remember mom's face when you came back with that huge bandage on your head. She totally freaked."

"When she removed it and saw the cut was the size of a pea she got after both of us," Jamie gently snickers and then stops when the cut on his bottom lip slightly splits and he stops. "Damn…"

"Sorry," Danny frowns as he hands Jamie a soft Kleenex to dab his mouth. "No more laughing."

"Oh yeah it's my fault you made me laugh," Jamie groans as they both stand up to leave the bathroom. "Mom wouldn't have been laughing tonight."

"None of us are laughing about what happened tonight," Danny replies in truth as he starts to lift up Jamie's tee. "Let's see."

"Danny!" Jamie tries to protest.

"Hey, I've seen them before," Danny retorts as Jamie just rolls his eyes. Danny looks at the tensor bandages wrapped around Jamie's broken ribs and frowns; his mind, however, thankful that the bandages were still intact and he'd only have to rewrap them the next night when he helps Jamie after he's had a shower. "Okay…all done."

"Told you they were fine," Jamie sighs as they reenter the main living area. "I think after tonight mom would have asked me to quit the force."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah…I do."

"And?"

"And…and I don't know," Jamie answers with a huff as his right hand runs over his short dirty blond hair and then falls to his side. "I might have said yes in the hospital."

"That's the pain meds talking right now. Any pref for piz…hey Jamie," Danny calls out to his brother as Jamie heads straight for the window and looks down; his left arm being held upright in the air. "While you're standing there, close the curtains."

"You think he can see up here?"

"Maybe I'm shy," Danny retorts as Jamie at first shakes his head but complies and closes the heavy backed curtains most of the way; leaving a small space for some outside light and then heads for the kitchen with a slight limp, biting back his wince. "Sit down already," Danny gently barks and then recants. "Sorry. I know tonight has been rough for you but um…but it's hard on me to see you like that."

"You actually feel sorry for me?"

"Haven't stopped since the hospital. But seriously, just sit down and rest or something."

Jamie readily complies, easing himself down onto one of the high kitchen chairs. But as soon as he tries to reach for something with his left arm, the wound slightly stretches and he gasps in pain.

"Hold on…"

"Stop fussing!"

"I can't!"

Both snap at each other and then stop and stare at the other in misery. "I can't get the image out of my mind of being burnt alive," Jamie confesses as Danny arranges a few books on the kitchen counter for Jamie to prop his arm up on. "Faced a lot of bad stuff but um…this I think was the worst."

"Yeah," Danny whispers as he looks at Jamie's tormented expression and then pulls back and turns away but says nothing.

"Ever have nightmares about being burnt alive a…yeah I guess you wouldn't. Sorry."

Danny remains silent a few seconds more before he turns to Jamie with a heavy frown.

"You do?" Jamie asks in wonder. "I don't remember…" is all he gets out before Danny interjects.

"My last tour…we were in this area we knew to be a hot zone. Another guy and I had gone ahead to scout out the area before the rest of our team moved in. We thought the area was clean but it wasn't. All of a sudden a can full of gasoline with a crude starter came flying through the air. He saw it…pushed me out of the way and I turned just in time to see him go up in flames and a little kid stand there watching with a smile after he threw it. He wanted us to burn. I didn't hesitate…I just shot before I even knew what the hell I was doing. Then I threw down my weapon and raced to put the flames out. My partner kept crying out to me to make the pain stop. I suffered burns on my hands and arms but um…but there was nothing I could do."

"What? You never said…"

"There's lots I didn't tell anyone. Who'd want to hear? Most of it was scary stuff. Linda knows most but um..yeah…while it's not exactly the same I kind of have an idea of the nightmares you'll have. Sorry kid."

"Wow…what happened to you after that?"

"I secured the area and I told them to give a medal in his name for saving my life. He was a hero," Danny's voice dies out as he pastes on a tight lipped smile.

"Danny…I'm…sorry," Jamie states in concern.

"Yeah, me too."

"On that note…I think I need a drink," Jamie mentions with a slight smirk.

"You're on too many pain killers right now," Danny reminds him as he opens the cupboard and reaches for some decaf coffee. "I'll have this too. So…pizza?"

"Danny, that madman is out there right now and you want to order in pizza?" Jamie asks gruffly as Danny closes the cupboard and looks at Jamie in concern.

"Good point."

"Don't I have _anything _edible in there?"

"You want me to cook something?" Danny asks as Jamie's lips offer him a small smirk.

"Forgot who I was talking to."

"Just sit down and relax. I think I can find…something that won't kill us," Danny mutters as he pulls open Jamie's fridge. But when he turns back he notices Jamie's fingers wanting to play with the soft padding around his arm. "Hey…"

Jamie looks up with a heavy frown as his right hand automatically retreats. "That guy was pure evil Danny."

"I think we both agree on that."

"Glad it wasn't personal like with poor Tina," Jamie muses audibly.

"Ah see I don't agree there. I think it was personal, it was personal to him. It became personal the moment you stopped to help Tina. You have a nice face kid she probably talked to you longer than anyone else and he was watching and that was all it took. Or she told him about you. Or he found your card and asked about you…or he saw and then asked. It could be anything but I think it was personal."

"I just wish I could have talked her into getting protection. At least this wouldn't have been for nothing," Jamie states with a heavy sigh as he looks back down at the reddish tinged skin at the base of his wrist.

"You were just doing your job. Now what do you want on your Mr. Noodles?"

"Seriously?" Jamie asks with a small snicker as Danny holds up the two packages. He slightly chuckles as he leans forward and snatches the box of instant noodles from his brother's grasp and hops off the chair. "I'll make something."

"Just tell me what to do wise ass," Danny retorts as he blocks Jamie's path to the fridge. "If you reinjure that arm you'll be in even more pain than you are now."

"If that's possible," Jamie huffs as he slumps back down onto the stool and gestures for Danny to open the fridge.

"Okay so just tell me what to do already," Danny mumbles as he keeps his back turned to Jamie. But when he doesn't hear an answer he looks back to see Jamie starting wistfully into the distance. "Or…maybe later," he mentions softly as Jamie turns back to him in torment. "Here," Danny hands Jamie a mug of coffee. "Remember…right hand only."

"I know how to drink coffee," Jamie groans as Danny pours some into milk into his mug and then sits down opposite his brother.

"I know this…"

"Sucks," Jamie interjects sourly.

"I was going to say inconvenient but yes sucks works too. Maybe even better. But resting up a few days and letting it all heal properly is better than being out there and doing more damage," Danny reminds him as he looks down at Jamie's injured arm. "Does it need some cold water?" Danny asks as Jamie nods. "Okay."

He turns on the water, making sure it's not too cold because that could aggravate the wounds and reaches for a soup ladle just as Jamie reaches his side. Jamie leans his arm over the sink while Danny wets the cloth and then slowly starts to ladle the water over the throbbing blisters.

"Did the doc say how long the heat would last?"

"Probably until tomorrow," Jamie winces as his arm automatically flexes. "I know I have to move it but it hurts when I do. Damn I wish I could just have Price here and kick his ass for all this," Jamie states with gritted teeth as Danny nods in agreement.

"Yeah…me too. How's that?"

"Better. Thanks," Jamie replies softly as he leans on the sink, looking up at Danny in wonder. "What?"

"Just…brings back memories. That same expression when you looked up at me after you fell out of that damn tree. Just…yeah," Danny's voice stammers as he looks back down at Jamie's wounded arm. "Could have been worse."

"I keep telling myself that also," Jamie adds with a tight lipped smile. "Thanks."

The two of them talk a bit more about the case, Danny trying to reassure Jamie that Baez was looking for Russell Price along with every cop in the city that he would be safe.

"Okay…so what do you want for dinner? Anything?"

"Something light I guess. I'm not that hungry."

"Soup and grilled cheese?" Danny suggests weakly as Jamie's face offers a kind smile.

"That'd be great."

Danny pulls out a can of hearty tomato soup and then turns on the oven broiler. A few moments later everything is about done and he's about to pull the grilled cheese toast out of the oven.

"Use the mitts!" Jamie exclaims just as Danny pulls open the oven door. Danny holds up the mitts and makes a face before he pulls out their light meal and puts it on a plate, cutting it into four little squares like their mother used to. "Canned soup and cheats grilled sandwich."

"Mom used to cut the bread like this," Jamie smiles as he picks up a small square. "Smells good."

"Well at least it's edible," Danny shrugs as he grates some cheese in his soup; Jamie watching with a horrified expression. "What?" He snickers as he offers some to his brother who quickly shakes his head no.

The two of them slowly enjoy their very light meal, Jamie's stomach still tight from his harrowing ordeal and the meds but still feeling like he needed a bit something extra to take away a few gnawing pains. After he's done, he thanks his brother and then watches as Danny cleans up the few dishes; the two of them talking about the case a bit more before it's time for Jamie to get some rest.

"Just remember to leave your arm out and slightly elevated," Danny reminds Jamie in as friendly tone as possible, but already he can see that Jamie's irritation at his current predicament was starting to take its toll.

"I know," Jamie replies with an irritated tone as Danny pulls the blanket up to his shoulders, his injured and bandaged left arm resting on top.

"Okay fine, Mr. Know It All," Danny sighs as he turns off the light and then heads for the futon that he had set up while Jamie was enjoying his coffee. He eases himself down onto the top of the makeshift foldout bed and then looks at Jamie's outline on the other side of the room; the pale night light on the wall bouncing off the heavy curtain backing and outlining his brother in an otherwise darkened room.

He hears Jamie's lips offer a soft grunt and his mind is instantly whisked back into that empty room where he had felt his heart literally stop short when he found Jamie's unmoving frame on the floor…left to die by a heartless devil. He remembers Jamie crying out when he was trying to remove the cuffs but then trying to be brave in the ambulance and swallow back his pain and agony in front of the medics.

He remembered vowing in that moment to find Russell Price and make him pay at any cost. But his father was right, if he was on the streets right now, he'd end up doing something he'd regret – like killing him with his bare hands. But it's not long until Jamie's body instinctively wants to roll over onto his left side and he puts some pressure onto his wounded arm that he cries out and quickly retreats to his other side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…peachy," he tosses back to Danny in sarcasm. Despite the fact that he can't help but laugh at Jamie's sarcastic comment, his heart also aches for the pain he knows his brother is in. He remembers looking at the burnt skin just after the doctor had looked it over to make sure that broken blistered were treated and the unbroken ones were covered up. He remembers cringing and feeling his fists automatically tighten, wishing they were wrapping around the throat of Russell Price.

"Danny?"

"Yeah."

"When you find him…"

"Just worry about getting better okay?" Danny retorts softly; seconds later Jamie's right hand reaching up and turning on the light, his eyes gazing at his brother in question.

"I have just as much right to want a piece of him as you…maybe more," Jamie states curtly.

"Well it's good that you throw a right instead of a left or otherwise it'd be a pretty quick fight and not in your favor. But trust me any cop that catches his bastard tonight will make sure he gets less than first class treatment before we get to him. Go to sleep."

"I want him dead," Jamie whispers as he turns off the light and sinks back into his bed, his left arm still warm and throbbing, his frame on edge.

"I want the same thing."

Try as he might to force himself to focus on happier thoughts, Jamie's mind can't help but show him his body on fire and then being attacked and beaten while he was unable to call out for help or mercy.

"Think he's did this before Tina?" Jamie asks somewhat rhetorically as Danny's eyes snap open.

His first instinct is to tell Jamie to just close his eyes and try to rest after his ordeal but he understands that when his brother closes his eyes he can't help but see tonight's horrific incidents.

"Yeah I do. These guys don't just get angry once you know? Who knows what happened to the one before her," Danny ponders with a small shrug as Jamie looks over at his brother's silhouetted frame in the dark. "He has a long history of violent offenses but I'm guessing the reason this bastard is still on the streets is either the last one was too scared to talk or…"

"Is dead," Jamie interjects with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah that," Danny agrees as he flips onto his side and stares at Jamie's darkened figure a few meters away. "It's all been petty stuff up until now."

"Yeah until I decided to play superman."

"You did what any good cop woulda done. She probably wasn't out in public like that before."

"And the one time she is, she pays for it with her life," Jamie mentions sourly. "And nearly mine."

"We'll get this guy," Danny vows with a small hiss as he takes a deep breath and then tries to settle back down.

"Yeah all we have to do is try to not wonder where he is right now."

"You need to concentrate on trying to get some real sleep," he tells his brother as his fingers reach for his gun and tuck it just underneath his pillow. "There's a car outside, front and back. Every entrance is covered. A cop in the lobby, the basement and just outside the front door. Besides, he'd be a fool to come here and try to get in."

But Jamie hears the doubt in Danny's tone and feels his stomach tighten further. In his state, he knows the fight would be quick, painful and very one sided. Even with Danny's quick trigger finger and fighting prowess, Russell Price is a very violent but cunning adversary. If he wanted into somewhere…he'd find a way in.

As Jamie closes his eyes and tries to force his mind to think on something positive, he couldn't know in that moment the exact truthfulness of his words.

XXXXXXXX

But Russell Price was already working on his plan to get into Jamie's loft apartment; wanting to finish the job he started and take down the one man that had dared to stand against him and so far live to tell about it. With a gun and knife carefully concealed inside his black jacket, Price lines up the top of the apartment, his lips twisting upward into a devious smile. He had expected the police to be at the usual building entrances, but as he suspected, the top of the building was left unguarded. The jump, if successful would only deal him a few scrapes and bruises but the fire escape door was ripe for the taking and it wasn't exactly a high tech building that Jamie Reagan calls home.

He backs up and then starts to race toward the buildings edge. His body takes flight, soaring a few silent moments through the cool night air before the expected tuck and roll rough landing on his intended destination.

Price doesn't wait to silently congratulate himself, as within seconds he's on his feet and hurrying toward the roof fire escape entrance.

He picks the lock, holds his breath and then enters. Once inside he pulls his gun and starts to silently descend.

"Tonight you'll die for crossing me Jamie Reagan. You and anyone else who's with you!"

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay so before the big showdown I wanted our boys to bond a bit more and for them to talk and share a few memories and of course Danny offer Jamie a bit more TLC. But price is now poised to strike and hope you all liked the bit of reprieve before the angsty storm up next! For those that are staying with this story thanks so much and hope you review this update also. My apologies to those that left.


	4. Slaying the Dragon?

**Title: No Mercy  
><strong>**Chapter 4 – Slaying the Dragon?**

**A/N: **So sorry that so many are leaving that makes me sad and wonder why and I have lost a bit of heart so this story will only be 5 chapters in total. For those still reading I hope you all like this update. Thank you.

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><p>Danny hears Jamie's soft whimpers, his eyes opening and looking at Jamie's restless frame a few meters away on the other side of the dimly lit room. Every time Jamie would unconsciously try to turn onto his left, his wound would scream out from underneath the soft padding, forcing him ty cry out and quickly turn back.<p>

"AH! I hate this," Jamie growls softly as his tired eyes snap open. He slowly sits upright, his body tired and aching and his brain wanting nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and force sleep to come upon him. It wasn't to be.

"What do you need?" Danny's voice is heard from the shadows.

"Did I wake you?"

"Wasn't sleeping…much," Danny answers in truth. "What's going on?"

"I just need…"

"Just relax I can get it," Danny huffs as he flips on the light and watches Jamie struggling with his blankets. "I said I'll get it for you."

"I have to pee! Can you do that for me?" Jamie retorts with a groan before he slumps back down and lets Danny untangle his leg from the mangled sheet and blanket mix.

"Uh...no," Danny replies with a slight smirk as he pulls the blanket's bottom out from the edge of the bed and lets Jamie's leg spring free. "I'll let you do that on your own," Danny mentions as he leans in and helps Jamie stand upright. He watches Jamie pull away and head for the bathroom at a slow shuffle before disappearing inside. He would allow his brother his privacy but would remain awake and alert just in case he was needed. In the meantime, Danny slowly heads over to the window and looks down. He spies the two police cars parked outside and feels his eyes narrow. Not at them personally but at the reason they were so vigilantly parked there – Russell Price. _Where are you, you son of a bitch? Where!_

Jamie finishes up in the bathroom and then looks at his haggard reflection and feels his heart sink slightly. Of course he knows his broken bones and cut skin will heal but he thinks about Tina and how Price had dealt her a wound that she never recovered from. He had gotten a small taste of that and as he feels his ribs knit painfully he knows that compared to her he had gotten off lucky. However, he also knows that Price is still out there wanting to exact revenge. And no matter how much his heart wants to believe that Price is going to tuck tail and run, his mind knows better – Price is out there, waiting to strike.

He turns on the cold water and extends his left arm, remembering the doctor said that 'normal' movement would be good but when the burnt skin starts to stretch, the pain waves force his arm to retreat and his lips to curse.

"Jamie?"

Danny's head pokes around the door into the bathroom as Jamie looks at him with a small scowl. "Just checkin'."

"I need…a new arm," he sighs as he puts down the damp facecloth.

"Just stick your face under the running water," Danny suggests with a snicker as Jamie tosses the damp facecloth in his direction. "Dip it in a bowl?"

"Not helping," Jamie sighs as he pauses and then slightly frowns.

"The bowl?"

"I don't need…"

"I don't mind getting it for you," Danny tells him in truth as his face disappears out of view once more and Jamie turns back to examine the cut on his forehead a bit more closely.

"Has Baez heard anything yet?" Jamie inquires as Danny returns with the bowl and starts to fill it with cool water.

"Not yet but I'm sure it won't be long now. Okay…dip. Pretend you're bobbing for apples," Danny grins as Jamie's eyes slightly narrow. "Okay fine, do you want me to do it for you?" He asks in a softer tone. "I do it for the kids so I don't mind."

"No it's…okay," Jamie's voice pauses as he looks down at the waiting bottle of water.

"Okay you dip and I'll dry," Danny suggests as he reaches for a soft face towel and waits. He watches Jamie slightly bend forward and then dip his face into the cool water. Jamie's medicated hot flash starts to lessen as soon as the water starts to tease his scorching skin. But a few more slow dips and he finally stands up feeling a bit more refreshed.

"Okay…hold on," Danny states softly as he gently dries Jamie's face as Jamie keeps his bandaged arm out of the way of Danny's moving limbs; not wanting it to sustain any further damage.

"Thanks," Jamie tells Danny with a small smile as he leaves the bathroom. He heads for the window and looks down; Danny hovering a few meters behind. "I know he's out there, waiting."

"If he's not caught yet," Danny utters as Jamie turns back with a steely stare. "I'm sure he's plotting. Does that make you feel better? Sure does wonders for my nerves," he groans in sarcasm as he heads toward his bed. But just before he can settle, his phone buzzes to life and Danny's quick to reach for it.

"Baez?" Jamie asks in haste.

"No…it's dad," Danny replies slowly as he opens the text message.

"Did he get Price?" Jamie asks hopefully as he slowly eases himself down to a sitting position on an easy chair looking at Danny in wonder.

"No. Why are you there?"

"Why not? It helps to sit up."

"Because they're…the bed is softer," Danny sighs as he stands back up and walks over to his brother to help him get up. "What? You want to stay sitting up?"

"Yes. What did dad say?"

"He's just finishing up a few things and then will drop by."

"Sitting up is easier on my ribs," Jamie answers in truth as his props his left arm up on the padded rest. "And my arm. Besides…less urges to roll over onto my side," he grumbles as he looks at the soft padding as Danny brings him a heavy blanket before he wanders over to his bed and slumps back down. "I hate trying to wonder where he is."

"Well if you want to turn the TV on to take your mind off things, go for it," Danny suggests as Jamie looks at him with a small frown before he pulls his phone. "Or you can watch…"

"I'm playing candy crush," Jamie interjects with a small growl as Danny chuckles and then goes silent.

"Or that."

He looks at Jamie's tense frame silhouetted against the large windows and feels his mind starting to race. Of course he knows Price is still out there and he can't fault his brother for not being able to take his mind off his current plight – he'd be crawling the walls already, or worse. His father had read him well, if he wasn't here watching Jamie, he'd be on the streets probably racking up another excessive force complaint in an attempt to get anyone to give up Price's whereabouts.

Instead he has to contend himself with knowing that on the slim chance that Price was now plotting to take out his brother, he'd have to get through him first. And that would be a fight to the death – one he'd vow to win at any cost. _Where are you you demented bastard!_

XXXXXXXX

But Danny's question is silently answered by their currently unseen assailant that is carefully making his way down the empty stairwell toward Jamie's floor. He had watched in veiled delight as the Molotov cocktail smashed through the window of the cruiser and started to attack the unsuspecting officer; delighted more when he had him helpless in his grasp and was able to deliver to him a justified beating. However, his anger starts to surge as he remembers being interrupted by a nosy cop and the brother no less!

However, he had seen Danny entering the building with Jamie and so his mind now gleefully ponders the taking out of two cops – brothers, NYPD royalty as it were. He finally reaches the correct floor and checks the silencer on the end of his weapon. He slowly pulls the door open and peers into the hallway, ready to take out whoever might be standing guard. He enters the quiet corridor and starts to slowly make his way toward the end corner that would take him to Jamie Reagan's front door.

As suspected, as he peers around the corner a distracted police officer stands guard a few feet from Jamie's front door. Not caring about the background story of who he's about to kill, he lines up the officer in his sights and pulls back on the trigger. The silenced bullet enters the side of the officer's head, killing him instantly and sending his body crumpling to the ground, his phone, the instrument of his demise, not making much more than a soft clatter as it lands on the carpeted hallway and bounces once before coming to rest.

"You're next Reagan," Price hisses as he hurries toward Jamie's front door, preparing to enter.

But at the same time the phone bounced, Danny's frame was jerked awake by a horrific nightmare of watching his brother die at the hands of their current nemesis. He hears a soft shuffle by the front door and looks up to see shoes breaking the light beam coming from under the slit at the bottom of the doorway. _Dad's here…_his mind falsely reasons as he rubs his face and then looks over at Jamie's frame slumped to the right in his uncomfortable chair. He hears what he thinks is either a knock or a key being put into the lock and hurries to get there first.

Not wanting to wake his brother, Danny tiptoes as best he can toward the front door, his mind reasoning that if there was a commotion downstairs, it would have been radioed up and if outside, they would have heard and he'd be ready. He never expected Price to pull as desperate a move as he did in jumping over the top of the building so to guard was lowered was the truth.

And it costs him.

Danny only does a quick peek through the door, sees the black outline of the wool coat and black hair that usually outline his father and pulls the door open. "Did you br…" is all Danny manages before Price's fist wrapped around something hard comes sailing through the air and slams into Danny's temple, momentarily dazing him. But not having his weapon and the fact that his eyes instantly water, renders him blinded for a few seconds more. That's all Price needs. He strikes Danny once more, sending him to the floor with an agonized groan.

"Jam…" he tries to call out to warn his brother but another blow to the head sends him into darkness.

"Sorry big brother, not this time," Price snarls down at his feel, spitting on Danny's crumpled frame before he closes the door half way, zip-ties Danny's wrists in front and then quietly heads into the living room.

Jamie's mind thinks it hears something in the near distance and his bleary eyes slowly open to see a dark figure hovering around Danny's bed. "Danny?" Jamie mumbles as he tries to pull himself from his stupor as the figure nears. "Is dad here?"

"Not exactly."

The voice instantly chills him to his very soul, his brain registering the voice that had nearly dealt him a death blow in the basement of the rundown apartment building only a few hours earlier. This time Price doesn't wear a mask, telling himself that he'd toy with the injured officer a bit before he'd end his life and slip out the same way he came in.

"Danny!" Jamie's voice calls out urgently as Price raises his gun and fires off a silenced shot that narrowly misses his cheek, embedding itself into the wall behind him. Jamie's body instantly jerks as Price lunges for him, grabbing the blanket around his legs and giving his body a good jerking forward, making him painfully slam onto the hardwood flooring and cry out in pain.

"Go on officer…scream for me," Price taunts as he fires off another shot, purposely missing Jamie's face once more; the bullet bouncing off the floor and embedding itself into a wall panel.

"The cops…"

"Are too busy looking for me!" Price hisses as he grabs Jamie by the feet and starts to drag him away from the living room. "By the time they…" is all Price manages before Jamie swallows down his painful gasping tries to twist around and kick Price in the leg. He succeeds and manages to scramble away, his injured arm yelling at him from the forced extension but his brain urging him to keep going, a bit of stretched skin was better than the fate that awaited him.

But his escape attempt is short lived as Price fires off another shot, this one hits its target. It wasn't meant to kill as he wanted to do that; instead if grazes the top of Jamie's left shoulder, opening up a slice of skin and forcing Jamie's body to stop and writhe in agony.

"Time to go cop!" Price hisses as he pulls out his other zip-tie and tries to get Jamie's arms behind his back.

Not wanting to subject this injured arm to any more painful movement, Jamie kicks upward, striking Price in the groin and forcing his attacker to curse in anger and pull back slightly. Once again Jamie is able to pull himself free, giving his mind a false sense of hope as he tries to scramble back toward his bed to get his concealed weapon.

Price pounces.

"AHHHH!" Jamie cries out as Price strikes him in the side, his broken ribs screaming for mercy as Jamie's body recoils as Price now hovers over him. "The…cops…" Jamie tries breathlessly as Price finally succeeds in binding him. His wrists weren't bound behind his back as Price would have wanted, instead they were quickly bound in front before Price once again starts dragging him toward the door.

"Danny! DANNY!" Jamie shouts once more before Price reaches for a nearby hand towel and forces into Jamie's slack jaw, gagging him.

Price's left hand keeps a good hold on Jamie's tee-shirt as he drags his flailing frame toward the front door. Jamie's bare feet struggle to get a foothold on the flooring but Price jerks his arm and Jamie's actions are instantly halted as he crashes back to the floor as they near Danny's unconscious frame.

Jamie tries to spit out the thick cloth in his mouth but all he does is succeed in slightly chocking as Price kicks the door open and yanks him into the hallway. Jamie's bare feet try to kick the panel to bring some attention to himself, but Price's hand rests on the bandaged part of his arm, forcing him to scream into the thick towel gag and instantly forcing his eyes to water. Price succeeds in hauling him to his feet and dragging him toward the back stairwell.

_DANNY! _Jamie's mind yells as he tries to pull away from Price's iron-like grasp.

"Ever wondered if you could fly cop?" Price snarls as he drags Jamie's struggling frame around the corner. "Well…tonight you'll find out."

_FLY? _Jamie's eyes widen as they near the stairwell and he realizes the sickening reality of Price's threat. _He's going to throw me off the top of the building! DANNY! HELP ME!_

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile Danny's mind painfully struggles to return him to the present. He recalls flashes of seeing the text from his father. Helping Jaime. Settling back into bed. Jamie on the chair. A scuffle at the door and then…._BANG! _

His body instantly jerks in response, snapping his eyes open! But instead of finding himself lying in a soft bed and looking at Jamie peacefully sleeping in the chair, he looks down at his bound wrists and up at the empty space before him.

"Jamie!" Danny growls as he tries in vain to tug his writs free of their tight bonds. "JAMIE!" He tries again his head throbbing furiously and his body struggling to get upright. "Ah damn it! Jamie!" Danny shouts once more, wondering why the officer outside wasn't responding to his calls.

"HEY!" Danny tries once more as he manages to get upright. But as soon as he flips on the light he spies the fresh spattering of blood on the floor and his brain finally remembers the haunting face that greeted him when he opened the door.

"PRICE!" Danny shouts as he tries once more to get his hands free. He frantically looks around for his phone but can only curse and instead immediately shift to plan B. He races for Jamie's home phone, dials 9-11 and then tosses it aside, knowing that the with the connecting call the emergency dispatcher would immediately put it out and the officers downstairs would be alerted – if they weren't already. His father, his partner would hear the address and help would be on its way.

"Jamie!"

Danny yanks the door open and then rushes into the hallway, looking down in horror at deceased corpse of the officer that had been commissioned to protect them. He heads for the elevator to go down but then pauses as he thinks he hears a sound coming from…behind him?

He quickly turns and bolts for the end of the hallway, rounding the corner and glaring in contempt at the fire escape exit. "Bastard!" Danny curses as he races for the doorway and then pushes himself into the dimly lit, air cooled stairwell. He hears an angry growl just as the door a half dozen stories up slams shut and feels his heart starting to race further. Price had come, not to kidnap Jamie again as he wouldn't have been able to without alerting someone at each entrance down below. The roof? That could only mean one thing…_oh my God, he's going to throw him off the roof!_

"JAMIE!"

XXXXXXXX

Jamie's brain tries to push past the throbbing in his arm, ribs and shoulder as he continues to struggle in Price's grasp. _tonight you will fly…._

"MMMMMMPH!" Jamie tries to call out as his tongue once again tries to push the thick cloth from between his lips and he curses the fact that he can't pull his arms free of Price's painful grip and yank it free.

"Oh pipe down!" Price hisses in reply as he eyes the ledge of the building in the near distance. "Time to fly golden boy!"

_Do something! _Jamie's brain commands, sending signals to his feet to try to trip Price up in any way, shape or form. And he finally does. Jamie manages to do a crude split with his legs, his right foot catching Price by surprise and forcing both of them to stumble forward. Since Price still had his arm in his grasp, Jamie swings his body around, slamming his butt and thighs into Price's legs and they both fall.

"Doesn't matter what you do cop! You will die!" Price shouts as Jamie quickly yanks the cloth from his mouth, his lungs slightly gasping for air.

"The c-cops…are on their way…" he wheezes as he tries to roll away from Price.

"You'll be dead before then!" Price states harshly as he kicks Jamie in the side. But thankfully for Jamie, his body had once again rolled slightly and so only the tip of Price's boot connected, thereby saving his broken ribs from any further harm.

Jamie knows that reasoning with Russell Price is now moot; he didn't care if he murdered a cop in cold blood. So his plan now switches from negotiation to desperate survival. His bound hands claw at the loose gravely roof as he tries to pull himself free of Price's grasp.

Still spurred on by his own personal hatred, Price grabs his feet and yanks him forward once more.

"You can't escape your date with destiny!" Price shouts in anger as he starts once again to drag Jamie back toward the ledge of the building.

"HELP ME!" Jamie shouts as he tries to pull himself and wiggle out of Price's grasp. Price merely laughs as he continues, muttering under his breath that Jamie was getting what he deserved for sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Jamie's mind pushes past the pulsing pains in the tips of his now bloody fingers as he tries to find something he could use to anchor himself and stop the attack. There is nothing.

But just before Jamie's mind can sink further into horrified desperation, his terrified eyes lift to see someone emerge from the entrance to the fire escape stairwell. _Danny!_

Knowing that Price is still armed and not wanting to give Danny away Jamie calls out for help once more, not caring about the mocking snicker the gets in return. But he doesn't care, his entire frame literally exhales as Danny nears.

Price, though, hears Danny approaching from behind. But he turns just in time to have Danny's, still bound frame, slam right into his knocking Price off his feet and sending them both crashing the ground atop Jamie's now trapped legs.

"Fine! Two…for the price…of one!" Price grunts at his own lame pun as he tries to punch Danny in the jaw.

Pushing past the throbbing in his chest, Jamie bends himself in half and uses his bound hands to grab Price's hair and jerk his head back just as Danny's balled fists shoot upright and clip Price in the jaw, snapping his head back.

"Go for help!" Danny shouts at Jamie as Jamie tries once again to pull himself free. But having no intention of leaving his brother to battle Price alone, Jamie pivots on his bare feet and turns back to try to pull Price off Danny's struggling frame.

"Sick bastard!" Danny curses as he punches Price in the jaw once more, breaking his lip and forcing a few droplets of blood to splatter onto his knuckles. But Price kicks Danny in the chest, sending him slightly gasping for air and folding to the right, allowing Price to get up and square off against Jamie.

"You just won't die!" Price's voice bellows as he lunges at Jamie's aching frame. Jamie however, is able to sidestep his advances and try to kick Price in the gut. But Price's hands shoot out and grab Jamie's legs, giving them a firm yank and forcing Jamie's lips to cry out as he slams back to the ground on his back. Price then does to Jamie what Jamie had done to him earlier, he quickly bends down and yanks Jamie back up by a handful of dirty blond hair, forcing Jamie to cry out as he's painfully jerked back to his feet.

"Valiant effort big brother!" Price sneers at Danny as he keeps Jamie's head painfully taught in his grasp and shoves his gun into Jamie's neck, forcing Danny to pause in his advance. "But it's all in vain! He dies tonight!"

"You hear the sirens jackass? Your time's up!" Danny snarls in return as he continues to keep pace with Price's advancing steps. "The cops downstairs are already on their way up! It's over!"

"Give it up!" Jamie tries as Price pushes the gun further into the crook of his jaw.

"I don't give up!" Price hisses in Jamie's ear as Jamie tries in vain to jerk his head free of Price's strong grasp. "But you better!"

"And let a scumbag like you win? Never!" Danny retorts angrily as he starts to pick up the pace.

"Stay back!"

"Or what?" Danny taunts as he hopes and prays the doors will open very soon and they'll be saved. But what he failed to realize is that the lock that Price had picked had been jostled a few times had locked the door behind him and so salvation wasn't as close as expected.

But the sound of the banging on the door allows Price's grasp on Jamie to slacken thus giving him an opportunity to try to pull himself free while Danny advances.

Jamie's elbow comes backward and clips Price in the groin, making him instantly yelp in pain and give up on holding Jamie altogether. Danny's fist pounds into Price's jaw, snapping his head to the right. But Price's right hand shoots out and jerks Jamie's frame back toward them, slamming into Danny's and sending both brothers nearly toppling over. Price manages to kick at Jamie's legs, this time successful in sending him back to the ground with a painful thud.

In all the confusion, Price had dropped his gun and now was in a mad scramble to find it. He finally spies the silenced weapon sitting about a meter away and makes a play for it. Cursing the fact that his bound wrists were almost useless but knowing he couldn't let Price get to that gun, Danny dives for prices feet forcing Price to slam back to the ground on his belly.

Price kicks back at Danny, desperately trying to get the determined officer off his legs and get to his gun and win the fight on his terms. Danny, however has other plans.

"Get the gun!" Danny shouts at Jamie as Jamie's brain yells at him to push past the pain now coursing through his entire frame and get the weapon and end the fight.

Jamie twists onto his knees and hurriedly crawls toward the weapon just out of Price's grasp.

But Price kicks at Danny once more, his actions forcing Danny to momentarily falter and allow Price to literally claw his way to freedom. Danny doesn't give up and pounces on Price just before Price's fingers can reach the gun. Danny's finger pulls on Price's ear until Price yells out in pain and his body recoils.

Danny's fingers finally reach the gun and for a few seconds his brain revels in elated victory as he tries to twist himself around and take Price down for good. But Price jabs something sharp into Danny's neck, making Danny yell out as well and his fingers loosen.

Price tries once more for the gun but this time it's scooped up for good by Jamie.

"This…is over now…" Jamie mentions breathlessly as he nears the edge of the building.

"Jamie!" Danny exclaims in abject horror as he is forced to watch in slow motion Russell Price pick himself up and charge at Jamie.

"Oh no…" Jamie's lips whisper as his eyes widen. His fingers pull back on the trigger but Price keeps advancing. He fires once more, not sure where on Price's body the bullet strikes or if it even hits Price…he just keeps coming.

Danny can only watch as the unthinkable happens.

"NOOOOO!" Danny shouts as he watches Price's body slam into Jamie's and both of them topple over the edge.

At the same time Frank Reagan's black SUV comes to a screeching halt outside the front entrance of Jamie's apartment building. He hears the faint cry and happens to pause and look up. It's his turn to let his eyes widen as a dark frame hurls toward the earth; the lips letting out an anguished cry before the body slams into the top of Frank's SUV.

In that horrible moment his heart stops as he hears Danny shouting for his brother.

"JAMIE!"

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><p><strong>AN:** Please do review before you go and thanks so much.


	5. Prescription for Recovery

**Title: No Mercy  
><strong>**Chapter 5 – Prescription for Recovery **

**A/N: **Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed this story! I'm glad you liked the 4 chapters up to now and hope you like this ending just as much and that I didn't let anyone down! Your support is so much appreciated.

* * *

><p>For a few seconds, the world literally does not turn…no one breathes…no one even blinks. For Frank, he'd be able to tell sooner that the body that had slammed into the top of his SUV wasn't that of his beloved so Jamie. But for Danny, it's a totally different story.<p>

"JAMIE!" Danny's lungs bellow when he finally gets the push from his brain to get up and – move! His hands claw at the gravely roof, pulling himself to his feet and stumbling toward the edge of the building. "JAMIE! OH GOD NO! JAMIE!" He calls out as he tries to blink away a few angry tears. "JAMIE!" Danny shouts as he looks over the edge in a panic.

At first all he sees is a blurry mass of red and blue below him; his lungs heaving as he curses the fact his bound hands won't clear away the mist from his eyes.

"Jamie!" Danny shouts once more.

This time the clouds in his brain clear long enough for him to actually hear a voice.

"Dan…ny."

"Jamie!"

"Danny…help me…" Jamie's voice calls out weakly as Danny finally spies the location the voice is coming from.

"Oh damn!" Danny's voice growls as he spies Jamie perched precariously on a ledge hanging on with his bound wrists as the metal ledge strains beneath his weight. "Just…just don't move."

"Hurry," Jamie gasps as his sweaty hands threaten to give way. Normally he'd curse the fact that he was bound but in this case the hard plastic ebbing keeping his wrists tightly bound together had gotten caught on one of the metal rungs and it was one of the few things keeping him from plummeting to the hard ground below.

"Need…something…HOLD ON!" Danny shouts back as he frantically races back to the door, hoping to get it open somehow and get himself free to rescue his brother. "Hold on…Jamie…just hold on…" he mutters as he reaches the door and tries to pull it open.

"Can't get…okay!" Danny calls out to the officers on the other side who finally manage to push through as Danny pulls back. "Here get this damn thing off!" He barks as he holds up his scuffed wrists for them to cut him free. "Hurry up!"

"Danny!"

"HURRY!" Danny growls as he watches the plastic being cut free but wastes no time in pulling away with one little strand left and snapping it free with whatever strength managed to gather in his forearms at the time. He races back to the ledge of the building; a few other officers rushing toward him also. "Jamie…"

"Danny…I'm slipping!" Jamie calls out in a panic, his arm begging for mercy and his broken ribs crying out in silent agony. But the fact that something bigger is at stake – his very life existence – he pushes past that and concentrates all his strength on holding on.

"I'm coming…just hold on," Danny states as he tries to count the number of windows down so he could get an idea of what floor Jamie was on. "Got it!"

Danny pivots on his foot and races back toward the fire escape entrance, literally bumping into his father; his partner a few feet behind. "I gotta get Jamie before he falls!"

"Falls? Where's Jamie?" Frank asks.

But Danny doesn't answer; he's already bounding down two steps at a time, Baez a few stairs behind him and Frank calling for an ambulance. "Jamie…please God…let him hold on…."

Frank hears the earnest pleading in his son's voice and knows that whatever vicious assault and fight led up to Price's flying from the roof and Jamie's life now hanging in the balance has Danny more than rattled. He's downright scared. But his mind too races with the horrible scenario of them getting their too late and watching as Jamie slips through their fingers and plummets to his death; the fire rescue team still scrambling to get the safety balloon inflated beneath him just in case.

"POLICE OPEN UP!" Danny bangs on what he hopes is the correct door. "Ah to hell with it!" He growls, not waiting for anyone to call the landlord. His foot kicks open the door and he rushes toward the window. "Jamie!" He calls out as he pushes the window open and then looks up in horror.

"Danny…can't hold on…any longer…" Jamie's voice, laced with fear utters in a shaky stammer.

"Okay…okay I'm here and…" Danny starts just as exits the window and puts some weight onto the metal fire balcony. But much like the one above him, it too was in desperate need of repair and starts to creak under his weight. "AH!" Danny huffs as he quickly jumps back and perches himself on the window ledge.

"Danny!" Frank utters as he catches up with his son. "Ladder's almost here," he informs them, referring to the fire truck that was nearing.

"They won't make it!" Danny tosses back as Jamie's lips cry out as he slips a bit more. "We uh…if I put any more weight on that…he's stuck dad and I just…I can't think…uh…damn!"

"Dad!" Jamie calls out; his cry tugging painfully on Frank's already aching heart.

"Okay so um…"

"I have an idea," Baez pipes up as Danny looks back at her in haste. "We need something to loop through the plastic cuffs and anchor him before he falls. You know from the flight above."

"I can't step…"

"Go up one flight and send something down and I'll step on that thing and attach him."

Danny doesn't even stop to think or reason with his partner that her life would also be in danger – he just acts. He turns and races back for the stairs, Frank directing two other officers to go with him for backup and support.

"Hold on Jamie…please son…just a bit longer," Frank pleads as Baez removes her jacket and shoes, wanting to shed as much excess material as possible.

"I'm scared dad," Jamie admits; his brain taking comfort in hearing his father's voice despite the fact that his back is to the apartment. "Hurry Danny…please hurry…" Jamie whispers as he hears Danny's voice one flight up shouting at the officers behind him.

"Okay partner you ready? We got one shot at this!" Danny calls down.

"Ready!"

"We got you," Frank assures Baez who had tied part of the shower curtain around her waist and was now being supported by Frank and another officer.

"Baez?"

"Ready!" She calls up.

Danny had fastened a crude hook at the end of the thick but empty fire hose and was now lowering it down to Baez who would hook it through the cuffs around Jamie's wrists and hold him in place should the metal grating give way before the fire department was able to get the ladder up.

"Here it comes!" Danny shouts as he slowly lowers the thick hosing and hook.

Baez waits on the ledge of the window until the hook is firmly in her grasp. She knows she has only one shot at this and so would have to make it count. She lines up Jamie in her sights and then very gently steps out onto the metal balcony. The rungs start to creak under her weight but the pressure isn't the same as Danny's so it holds – for now.

"Carefully," Frank cautions in a soft whisper.

"Just hold still Jamie!" Danny directs as he watches Baez nearing the edge of the balcony. She strains forward as far as possible, Frank and the other officer ready just in case.

"Al…most…" she groans as she bends out as far as she can. "Got it!" She calls out as the end of the S shaped hook loops through the cuffs and Danny pulls up gently to take away the slack. She steps back just as she feels herself starting to slip and is pulled back by Frank and the other officer just as the balcony starts to give way. But as his bare feet were on the edge of the metal balcony, that means that his footing was now giving way and soon he'd be dangling in mid-air.

It gives way.

"JAMIE!" Frank shouts as he watches his beloved son's body jerk in response. But Danny was ready and so pulls up on the thick hose. Jamie's body, being only a few feet from the stone wall of the apartment, slams into it with only some medium force; enough to give him a scare but not enough to do any more damage.

"Danny!"

"Hold on Jamie! Just hold on! PULL!" Danny shouts to the officers behind him as they all start to pull up on the hose, not wanting to wait for the ladder to be set up.

Jamie's eyes squeeze shut as his body jerks upward, slowly being pulled up toward the open and waiting window. "Danny…" he whispers as he opens his eyes and tries to look down.

"Almost…there," Danny wheezes as Frank and the rest hurry up to the floor above to help with the rescue. "Jamie!"

"Yeah…still here," Jamie gasps as he pushes past the throbbing in his side and back as it scrapes up the side of the building. Better a few little bruises and cuts than the alternative – death.

"Okay! Okay…almost there…just a bit more…" Danny mutters to himself as the top of Jamie's head finally appears near the window ledge; the two bewildered apartment occupants watching in utter shock. "Almost there!" Danny calls out, this time mostly for his own peace of mind. "Here! Take this!" He shoves his part of the thick hose into the hands of another officer and hurries to the window to get Jamie inside with them.

"Okay…I got you kid hold on…"

"Danny…help me," Jamie begs softly as Danny's hands slip under Jamie's armpits. He utters a small gasp in response to Danny hitting a ticklish spot, his instinctive reaction bringing a soft smile to Danny's lips. But despite the pain resounding through his entire frame, Jamie holds back his pain as Danny and quickly joined by his father is pulled into the warm apartment.

"Oh thank God," Frank whispers as he sinks to his knees and cradles Jamie's trembling frame.

"Dad…"

"I've got you," Frank states as he looks at Danny and gives him a firm nod. "You okay?"

"I am now. Is that bastard really dead?"

"He's dead. My roof can vouch for it."

"Price landed on your roof?" Jamie asks as he looks up with a dirty frown.

"He'll never hurt anyone ever again," Frank tells him in truth as the medics finally arrive.

"I don't want to go back to the hospital." Jamie laments in misery.

"I think a night for you both wou…"

"Me? I don't think so," Danny tries to protest as Frank looks at him squarely. "Me?"

The two medics bend down to Jamie, one starting to gently pull away the dirty wrappings around his blistered arm and the other listening to his breathing to make sure nothing was damaged inside from the fall. "I'm sorry but two of the blisters have broken and he might need another x-ray just to be sure nothing else was damaged. I don't think so but I can't say for sure."

"Both of them will go."

"What's wrong with you?" One of the medics asks Danny directly. And before Danny can answer 'nothing' his father intervenes on his behalf.

"He has a hard head."

"We can't fix stubborn," the medic quips in return. "Sorry."

But much like earlier, Danny goes along at his father's urging's for his brother's sake. Baez waits behind to take care of the scene with Price's dead body and the unoccupied apartment that has a busted front door lock.

"Ahhh," Jamie gasps as the medic tries to gently treat one of the broken blisters. His hand reaches out grasps Danny's, clutching it tightly and wanting to find a bit of extra strength and comfort in his brother's comforting touch. He tries to settle back down as they near the hospital; his mind anxious to get treated and then get home and get some real rest, now that he knows Russell Price has been taken care of for good.

This time when they arrive at the ER, Danny accompanies Jamie into the examination area as the same doctor walks up to them with a curious glance.

"Thought I told you you only had to…oh," the older man starts as he approaches the stretcher and then stops and looks at Jamie in shock. "What happened?" He asks Danny in haste.

"The man who started this came back to finish it off," Danny replies as Jamie nods in agreement.

"And will I be seeing you a third time?" He dares to ask as he leans in to check Jamie's breathing.

"Bastard died tonight," Danny whispers as the older man looks at him with a frown before he turns his attention back to Jamie.

"No," Jamie whispers in addition.

"Okay. So while I treat this busted blister how about you tell me exactly what happened to cause these fresh…injuries."

While Danny starts to relate what happened to Jamie from the moment he could remember, Jamie filling in the gaps like how he got the graze on his shoulder and how the few blisters actually got broken. Jamie's face offers another heavy wince as the doctor tends to the fresh wounds and then checks on the original ones he did a few hours earlier.

"Well…I'm going to send you back home with the same admonition I did earlier. Keep this elevated, dry, normal movement and please try to refrain from any further injuries."

"I think this will be it for now," Jamie assures the doctor with a timid smile. "I just want to go home and rest."

"How does the wrapping feel?"

"Stings," Jamie admits with a heavy sigh.

"That's the feeling from the broken blisters and the disinfectant burn gel. It'll sting for a few hours. That's normal. You haven't sustained any further internal damage and I've rewrapped your ribs and tended to the few new cuts and bruises," the doctor explains as Frank gently enters.

"Frank."

"Cecil. How is he?"

"You know I'm really very busy I don't need extra work from the Reagan family," he gently quips as he applies a small butterfly bandage to the cut on Jamie's forehead.

Frank looks at the bandage on his son's forehead and on his shoulder; his wrapped arm and ribs but knows as rough as his beloved youngest looks right now, he's alive and that was the outcome he could hope for the moment he heard the 911 call coming from Jamie's apartment and then knowing that he just survived a fight to the death.

"Thank you for your care and attention for my son," Frank extends to the ER physician as Jamie slowly stands up.

"So I can go right?"

"Sounds like one of yours," he quips with a smirk before his expression turns serious and he shakes his head.

"No?" Jamie asks weakly. "But I just want to go home and sleep. You said nothing else was wrong."

The older man looks at Jamie with a heavy frown before he looks at Frank and sighs heavily. "Will you be able to get some rest there? Because here you'll get some rest in an elevated bed."

"I want to go home. With Price gone for good I'll sleep better at home," Jamie explains, mostly trying to convince himself that with Price dead the nightmares would be over and he'd sleep peacefully. Part of that plan was true but the other part wouldn't come true – his sleep would still be restless.

"We'll keep an eye on the unbroken blisters," Frank tells the ER doctor.

"Just make sure that you take care of it and come back and see me at the first sign of infection," the doctor tells Jamie as he hands him a care packet to take home.

"Okay."

"You sure you wanna go home after all that happened there tonight?" Danny asks Jamie in a low tone.

"Yeah. With Price dead I will only have my arm to worry about right?" Jamie replies somewhat rhetorically. "Please?" He gently pleads in a softer tone as he looks up at his father in question.

"Just be careful with that arm," Frank tells his son as Jamie slowly stands up off the examination bed.

Danny's hands support Jamie's overly exhausted frame as he steadies himself on his feet for a few moments before he drapes his father's coat over his shoulders for some added warmth, Jamie looking at him with an endearing smile of thanks.

"Time to go home kid," Danny whispers as he looks at his father and nods.

"Oh Jamie. I was so worried," Frank's voice admits in a soft whisper as he gathers Jamie in his arms and holds him close, resting his cheek on the top of Jamie's head before he kisses it and then pulls back and looks at him with a loving smile. "I'll see you both in the morning. I have a few things to take care of."

"Thanks dad," Jamie looks up with a strained smile. "Can I go home and sleep now?"

"Yes."

The three of them slowly walk toward the ER entrance, Danny on the phone to Linda telling her the latest update.

"I was scared tonight," Jamie admits to his father in a low tone as Frank looks down with a heavy frown.

"I was too. When Price's body hit the roof and I heard Danny calling your name I feared the worst."

"I honestly didn't expect that to happen but I'm not sad he's dead."

"I don't think any of us are tonight. Now…I want you to go home and really rest this time."

"Sleeping is gonna suck," Jamie huffs as Frank gives his son one more loving squeeze. "I know…the alternative is worse," he states sourly as they reach the undamaged SUV.

"Ready to go?" Danny asks as he nears.

"Yeah," Frank nods to his oldest as he helps Jamie get into the backseat, mindful of his damaged arm. The drive home is spent talking about the fight and Price's flying off the roof and of course Jamie's near swan dive off the roof. Danny hears the edge in Jamie's tone and knows he's just holding back his anxiety in front of his father as the two of them will be having nightmares about the evening's events for a few days at least.

"Try to just get some sleep now," Frank tells his youngest as he hugs him close once more; kissing the top of his head. During Jamie's time at the hospital, the body of the deceased officer was removed and Baez had taken a small trip into Jamie's apartment to clean up the bloody bits on the floor and a few other things so that when Jamie opens the door to his apartment, nothing looks out of place; no signs of a fight. However, the memories still remain. The nightmares were just waiting to pounce.

"I'll try," Jamie replies as he gives his father a tired smile before he pulls away and slowly limps toward his bed.

"Keep an eye on him," Frank tells Danny in an undertone. "I'll be by in the morning…or in a few hours."

"I will," Danny whispers as he gives his father a hug and then watches Frank leave and locks the door. He turns and watches Jamie trying to settle into his bed and frowns. "Need any help?"

"No. I'm okay," Jamie replies as he looks up at Danny with a deep frown. "At least…I think I'll be," he huffs as Danny sits down on the bed beside him, pulling up the blanket before Jamie has to struggle with it. "You sure you want to stay here? We can always go to my place," Danny suggests as he looks at Jamie in concern. "Maybe not as many nightmares there."

"Remember when I fell out of the tree," Jamie starts as Danny looks at him in wonder but then nods. "That night I had a nightmare of falling out of the tree and hurting myself even more. I remember telling myself that if I go into mom and dad's bed the nightmares will stop. They didn't. So just because I'd come to your place and sleep with…" he starts and then pauses to laugh as Danny shakes his head.

"Not with me and Linda, genius," Danny interjects in sarcasm.

"I know. But it won't matter if I go to your place or even dad's…the nightmares are coming with me. Course…waking up and seeing Price walking toward me…" Jamie's voice trails off as he looks over at the dimly lit space before the door and then back up at Danny with a heavy frown.

"Want me to leave a light on?"

"Will it keep you up?"

"A nuclear explosion won't keep me up once I'm asleep tonight," Danny quips as he gets up and walks over to the entranceway and turns on the light.

"Thanks," Jamie answers as Danny walks back toward him.

"Try to sleep now," Danny tells him as he slumps back into the other bed. But as tired as he says he is, Danny can't help but stay awake and watch Jamie as he falls asleep. He thinks back to that night that Jamie had fallen out of the tree and how he had heard Jamie's whimpers but figured that it was his parent's job to care for their youngest child. Since he wasn't a father at the time he didn't understand but watching over Jamie now he gets it; Jamie knew his parents couldn't take away the nightmares but it helped to know when he did have them that he wasn't facing them alone. He'd give that same feeling to his brother tonight.

And about half hour later, just as he had started to lightly doze off, Jamie's mind shows him still bound and helpless, flying through the air and slamming onto the roof of his father's SUV, hearing his name being called before darkness consumes him.

"NOOOOO!" Jamie shouts as his watery eyes snap open and he frantically looks around.

"Hey…Jamie, it's okay," Danny tries to calm his brother as he hurries to his side.

With the light on, Jamie's able to quickly see that they are alone in the apartment and he slumps back down, his eyes looking over at his bandaged arm to make sure that he didn't injure it further. He didn't. "My arm's okay," Jamie mentions with a heavy sigh.

"The nightmares are gonna take a bit of time," Danny reminds his brother as he helps to rearrange his arm in a more comfortable position.

"I know," Jamie nods as he tries to settle back in. "Hope its sooner rather than later."

"Yeah…me too," Danny agrees as he settles back into the bed he was going to be sleeping in for the night. This time he notices Jamie struggling a bit more to get back to sleep and tells himself there is only one way to put his brother's trouble mind at ease.

So without saying a word he gets up off his little rollaway futon and climbs into bed beside his brother, Jamie looking at him in wonder.

"You tell anyone and I'll say it was your idea," Danny teases as Jamie's lips slightly purse into a comforted smile. "I'll make you some green Jell-O in the morning."

Jamie's eyes close and he whispers goodnight to Danny with a bit less agitation in his tone. The next few days he'd spend at home, resting and healing. And while most of the time he'd hate to just sit around and do nothing, after this major scare he's happy to be just relaxing and reflecting on the past few days. After that he'd go back to work and endure a few more days of desk duty, at least until all the blisters had gone down and then worry about the aftercare when the skin would star to peel.

But tonight he'd take comfort in the fact that his big brother was there, at his side, offering him more comfort than he might dare admit. _And don't forget the Jell-O_, his mind states as his lips offer a slight smirk, prompting Danny to look at him in wonder.

"Jamie? Everything okay?"

"Yeah…everything's gonna be just fine now."

**THE END!**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** wanted to get the Jell-O ref in from the eppy to round it out and hope you all liked this ending to this angsty little ficlet. Of course I'd never kill our beloved Jamie but just a bit more angsty tension for our boys and Frank. But also some happy bromance there for our boys and hope you all liked this ending. Thanks everyone so much and please do review before you go and thanks again!

**PS:** The Guardian – Book 2 is coming very soon! Hope you are all caught up with the epic adventure that was book 1 and are excited for book 2!


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